Observation of photon-photon thermodynamic processes under negative optical temperature conditions

Autor: A. L. Marques Muniz, F. O. Wu, P. S. Jung, M. Khajavikhan, D. N. Christodoulides, U. Peschel
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Science. 379:1019-1023
ISSN: 1095-9203
0036-8075
DOI: 10.1126/science.ade6523
Popis: Statistical mechanics demands that the temperature of a system is positive provided that its internal energy has no upper bound. Yet if this condition is not met, it is possible to attain negative temperatures for which higher-order energy states are thermodynamically favored. Although negative temperatures have been reported in spin and Bose-Hubbard settings as well as in quantum fluids, the observation of thermodynamic processes in this regime has thus far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate isentropic expansion-compression and Joule expansion for negative optical temperatures, enabled by purely nonlinear photon-photon interactions in a thermodynamic microcanonical photonic system. Our photonic approach provides a platform for exploring new all-optical thermal engines and could have ramifications in other bosonic systems beyond optics, such as cold atoms and optomechanics.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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